


otterly adorable

by Inkblot0Blue



Series: a first touch to give room to breathe [1]
Category: Free!, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aquariums, DaiSuga Week 2020, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkblot0Blue/pseuds/Inkblot0Blue
Summary: Aquarium// Daichi and Koushi admire the otters (and their boisterous ginger handler!) on their date at Iwatobi Aquarium!
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Series: a first touch to give room to breathe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933276
Kudos: 12
Collections: DaiSugaWeek2020





	otterly adorable

**Author's Note:**

> Just an excuse to write about otters really, I mean - they are adorable! But also fluff!

“Oh my god, Dai — just _look_ at them!” Koushi gasped as they reached the main attraction of Iwatobi Aquarium. 

Otters. So _many_ of them, rubbing their little mustachioed furry faces, grinning in the midday sun. 

“Hey, hey, welcome everyone!” A young voice exclaimed, waving from the corner of the exhibit; fiery-red hair, all smiles, sunbursts in his eyes, clad in oranges and yellows from head to toe.

“I’m Momotarou — I’m a first year marine biology student, and I work in the sea otter section! Sometimes with the river otters, but _these guys_ are my best friends!”

The otters paid him no mind, still grooming away. There was even one mummy otter; her little baby otter happily curled up on her tummy as she floated around.

“They are _otterly_ adorable,” Daichi commented, leaning in to watch Mummy Otter expertly glide around the rockpools. He wrapped his arms around Koushi’s waist, pecking his temple. “Even more than you.”

“Hey!” Koushi pouted, which just made Daichi laugh and nuzzle into him, stubble tickling his cheek. 

They watched as Momotarou dipped an orange-gloved hand into a big bucket—

 _That_ caught the otters’ immediate attention. 

Their ears pricked up, fuzzy paws poised at their chest, eyes following the arc of Momotarou’s hand, and—

_Splash!_

“Oi, oi, there’s more than enough for everyone!” Momotarou yelped as one particularly large otter snatched a scallop from another, diving away to eat it in peace among the kelp. The rest of the furry fellows, meanwhile, contended with their clams and mussels. 

Momotarou quickly explained how mummy otters wrapped their pups in kelp before going fishing, earning him a few ‘awws’. Then about how otters were of great ecological importance; helping seaweed forests and seagrass beds to flourish through their voracious appetite!

“They are _stupidly_ cute, though…” Koushi gushed, pressing into Daichi who squeezed him a little tighter.

They listened as Momotarou babbled on now about how otters needed to eat a quarter of their body weight a day. How shrimps were their favourite treats...

Daichi nudged him with his nose. “Look, Kou, is that ice?!” 

Momotarou beamed up at them, waving at Daichi. “Yes, correct! We freeze some shrimp in ice blocks and let them have at it!”

They watched as the big otter from earlier — Sir Otter — firmly grasped his block of ice and…

_Bang bang bang!_

He was smashing it against the plexiglas, getting all those tasty morsels out.

“You see how he’s getting the food out?” Momotarou bounced. “Well, all otters do that, with rocks! Some of them even have their favourite rocks which they take out of a little pouch when it’s mealtime, and use to smash their shellfish with!”

“They’re so _clever_ ,” Koushi grinned.

“Exactly — that’s why they’re my favourite! Such... _versatile_ little creatures!” Momotarou proudly presented his t-shirt; yellow and orange like the rest of him, with a happy little sea otter in the middle, holding a scallop. “You can get these shirts at the gift shop!”

“Matching outfits?” Daichi whispered playfully in Koushi’s ear.

Mummy Otter drifted along again, feeding her baby. Momotarou carried on, chatting to the little schoolchildren who were peering up on their tiptoes to look at the otters, making all sorts of animated gestures. “Oh, oh and they hold hands so as not to drift away! Like, when there’s predators! Or big, big waves!”

Momotarou then grinned at the gaggle of schoolchildren in their little yellow hats. “Even I like to hold hands with my friends so I don’t get lost!”

Koushi and Daichi exchanged knowing glances, bumping against each other.

“Promise you won’t drift away from me?” Koushi asked, a smile playing up his lips.

Daichi smirked. “Get _otter_ here.”

Koushi stuck his tongue out. “Maybe we should… _sea otter_ people.”

Daichi groaned exasperatedly, burying his head in Koushi’s shoulder. “Maybe when I’ve _had_ it with your _otter_ nonsense.”

Momotarou thankfully came to their rescue.

“—It’s play time now, would you like to watch?!”

The schoolchildren jumped up and down with the kind of infectious joy that only schoolchildren had.

Now balls and little sea-themed playthings were strewn all about the exhibit. Sir Otter, naturally claimed the biggest, bounciest ball there was, and was happily hitting it against the glass.

_Ba-donk! Ba-donk! Ba-donk!_

The schoolchildren (and Koushi!) cheered him on. The other furry fellows followed Momotarou’s lead, throwing balls into his net. 

“We do this to help some of the older ones with their motor function and arthritis,” — At this he pointed at one of the whiter otters, slowly nudging a blue ball with his snout — “Grandpa Otter there is fifteen!” 

A few more games, and even some audience participation with a couple schoolchildren and then Momotarou was finished! 

Koushi turned around in their embrace, brushing a lock of Daichi’s hair back in place. He smiled up at him, tugging at his shirt as the applause and chorus of screaming kindergartners thanking Momotarou died down. 

“I’m so glad I came on this trip with you.”

A grin. “You... _otter_ be.”

“Oh, not an _otter_ pun!”

They erupted in giggles as Koushi rested his head against his chest, feeling the soft beating of his heart, inhaling coffee and seaspray from their morning swim…

How rare, how beautiful it was...that they were here in this very moment. 

High school felt so far — so very far away now; another lifetime. But those days, months, _years_ on the court, they would never forget.

The permeating scent of minty air salonpas, teenage sweat, squeaky wooden floors, the rush of harsh winter air through old steel doors…

 _A first touch to give room to breathe_ ; chaotic heartbeats, the cacophony of school anthems and cheer, the hollow bounce of the ball, eyes meeting, _trusting_ , and— 

And amid all the rambunctious schoolchildren filing out and Sir Otter still bouncing his ball against the glass, Koushi leaned up — leaned up, to meet chapstick-sweet lips. 

Daichi smiled against him, pressing featherlight pecks to his lips, laughter easily bubbling up between them (and just below, Momotarou watched, a knowing blush spreading violently across his freckled face).

They parted, squeezing their hands together and exchanging giddy grins before continuing on, arm in arm, to meet Daichi’s favourite turtles.


End file.
